Voorhees Township Committee members approved a resolution to amend the sale of the old municipal building, changing the minimum bid price from $2.25 million to $2.5 million.
According to Township Administrator Larry Spellman, the sale of the property now includes Kerper Lane, increasing the assessed value of the property by $250,000.
Spellman said the township made improvements to Kerper Lane and later decided the access path to the property was no longer needed for public use.
“Kerper Lane is a driveway, but we had heard from potential buyers that access from White Horse Road was a valuable asset to the property.
“We identified three different options for the conversion of Kerper Lane into an approved street,” Spellman said, adding the successful bidder will be responsible for the road.
When the township made the initial step to include the municipal facility in the PREIT-owned Voorhees Town Center, the current facility was outdated and in need of repair.
In September 2011, municipal entities moved from 620 Berlin Road to Voorhees Town Center. The move cost the township approximately $5.8 million.
The sale of the property, along with generated local tax revenue, meant the project would pay for itself, officials said.
“PREIT guaranteed that when we moved in to our new space, it would spur growth here in the Town Center, and that the increased ratables from new business here would offset the bond payment for the new town hall. PREIT agreed to cover the difference if the new ratables were less than our bond payment,” Spellman said, adding after the old municipal building is sold, the net cost for the new municipal building is approximately $3.4 million.
Spellman said since the move, the location has been vacant and is being used for storage.
He said the reason for the prolonged sale of the property is due to the previous market.
“We were not willing to put the land up for sale until we could be sure we would get a fair market price,” he said.
While waiting for a reasonable selling point, the township had to remove two underground oil tanks and have the ground tested and certified. The land also needed to be subdivided so the township could maintain ownership of the cell tower located on site, which generates approximately $100,000 per year in revenue used for tax reduction, Spellman said.
“There is still some work to do,” he said.
The township is hoping to put the three-acre property up for auction sometime in September.
“We have had more than 20 potential interested purchasers,” Mayor Michael Mignogna said.
The committee’s next meeting is on Monday, July 8, at 8 p.m. in Voorhees Town Center.
